Exquisite revenge and knitted doppelgängers; heartbreak and happy endings; unicorns, doomed dogs, and penitent frogs; steampunk fairies, conflicted stepmothers, and baseball--you'll find it all here. Our literary alchemists weave a spell of fascination, drawing you deeper and deeper, tale by tale, until escape is impossible. But you'll enjoy every minute of the plunge. These sixteen deft and delightful stories involving witches, stitches, and bitches run the gamut from darkly disturbing to just plain fun. They will each take you out of the ordinary and into the world of magic, where older, weirder, or merely other rules apply. And just when you think things are all sewn up... some bitch may have a surprise for you. Includes stories by Gabrielle Harbowy, Caren Gussof, Kodiak Julian, and Christine Morgan, among others.

A mercenary discovers ancient horrors made flesh beneath the surface of a long-gone antediluvian ocean; an all-female submariner crew on a water world fall prey to sirens that sing of their deepest desires; and a selkie, held against her will in marriage, seeks to be reunited with her people. These are but a few of the stories featured in The Sea, offered up by Alex Hughes, Amy Lee Burgess, Andrea Jones, Anna Reith, Barry King, Benjamin Knox, Camille Griep, Diane Awerbuck, Don Webb, J.C. Piech, Rob Porteous, Simon Dewar, Steve Jones, Toby Bennett, and Wayne Goodchild. Plunge into watery worlds where mystery, horror or wonder await.

We kick off this issue with A. B. Robinson’s amazing “Sonnet Crown for Third Officer Ripley.” Then there are stories of beasties and strange places and stranger people; long, long journeys; and questions, so many questions. Also: Nicole Kimberling’s lovely food column looks at white asparagus.

An anthology of action-packed, science fiction adventure tales featuring pirates, strong women, soldiers, horrors, vagabonds, and deadly battles in space. The Full-Throttle Space Tales series collected action-packed, high octane, science fiction stories across the full potential of the genre. Here, the original editors have teamed up to pick the very best of Full-Throttle Space Tales, eighteen stories collected here for the first time. Stories by David Boop, C. J. Henderson, W. A. Hoffman, Julia Phillips, David Lee Summers, Carol Hightshoe, Irene Radford, Bob Brown, Scott Pearson, Alan L. Lickiss, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Dayton Ward, Anna Paradox, Ivan Ewert, Erik Scott de Bie, Shannon Page, Mark Ferrari, Gene Mederos, Jean Johnson, Mike Resnick, and Brad R. Torgersen Buckle your seatbelts, because we’re going to accelerate to Maximum Velocity!

This off-beat anthology will entice both poetry lovers and haters, as well as the noncommitted. As with a train wreck, you won't be able to divert your eyes. You may never think the same of poems ever again. Enjoy.

When her father dies, May Dearborne and her three older brothers all ask the same question: who is going to take care of Kipp? Kipp being their forty-five-year-old autistic brother. Who are they kidding? Since May is widowed, childless, and Kipps twin to boot, of course it will be her. May, an art professor at the University of Chicago, gives up her comfortable, independent life to move back into the family home with Kipp. But living with her quirky twin isnt easy. He makes grilled cheese sandwiches in a sideways-turned toaster, sings in an Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks falsetto, and pesters May relentlessly for a dog and a girlfriend. As May juggles teaching and preparing for the gallery show she hopes will lead to a coveted promotion, she finds herself besieged by men. Theres her narcissistic brother Sal who moves in when his wife kicks him out.And her teenage nephew who needs some space from his infatuated father. Theres Dilly, her smitten childhood friend who shows his love for her through gourmet cupcakes. And then theres Mr. Do-It-Right, the flirty painter she hires to renovate the old house. Throw in a mystery woman, a puppy, and a girlfriend for Kipp, and now everybody and their brother is clamoring for Mays attention. At its heart, Karla Clarks third novel is an endearing story about the connectedness of adult siblings and how they inextricably link each other to the world long after their parents are gone.

Potterversity: Essays Exploring the World of Harry Potter presents a written companion to the popular, "Hermione-Approved" MuggleNet podcast by the same name. Selected from the top Potter Studies scholars in the field, the diverse authors in the volume provide a range of interpretations of wizarding world stories. Essays include analysis of genre conventions, literary and religious symbolism, the role of games in the series, pedagogical approaches, and politically challenging issues like U.S. race relations, colonialism, and gender and sexuality--including direct attention to J.K. Rowling's controversial statements about trans people. Grouped into the sections "Occult Knowledge," "Ancient Magic," "A Question of Character," "Self and Other," "Playing Potter," and "Teaching, the Hogwarts Way," partnered essays precede transcripts of podcast conversations, led by the hosts of Potterversity. The book's essays and conversations aim to engage not only the mind but the spirit as well--the emotional, personal, and moral responses the Potterverse has evoked in so many people around the world. Fundamentally, this book demonstrates that the characters, stories, and situations of the magical realm promote thinking that helps us navigate our more mundane but no less dangerous world. Perhaps even more importantly, they help us to recognize the magic amid our everyday Muggle realities.